Yesterday we completed our project in the church hall’s upstairs. That Olde Jerusalem Market Place thing we began a while back.

When we left church at about a quarter to six, we’d finished the job. I was literally groaning out loud from pain caused by crawling on the floor all afternoon. Lydia, a healthy, young and very fit person, hobbled as if she were a physical wreck.

What’s going to happen with our scenery? I have no idea. However, it’s something that the Director Of Christian Formation wanted. She’s a remarkably creative and intelligent person so I’m sure she’ll make good use of the result of our slave labor.

When English colonists landed at Jamestown, they eventually built a meeting house where they worshipped God. After leaving Jamestown, they migrated downriver in this direction. Arriving at what is now Norfolk, they worshipped in a ramshackle structure where St. Paul’s stands. Later they built a fine church on that site. When the Revolutionary War turned that structure into rubble, they rebuilt and produced what we know as the St. Paul’s that sits by Mac Arthur Center.

Over time Norfolk spread out. By the time the eighteen hundreds became the nineteen hundreds, what is now Ghent was a suburb of Norfolk. Over half of the church’s congregation were suburban. After discussion, the church split. Parishioners living in Ghent built a new house of worship, the church we know as Christ And St. Luke’s at the corner of Olney and Stockley Gardens. Since the original congregation of the church included all descendants of the original Jamestown colony, Christ and St. Luke’s considers itself the oldest protestant church in this hemisphere.

I found this church after trying every other protestant church in the city of Norfolk. It took a while. The last place we visited was Christ and St. Luke’s…and right away I loved it. I thought, "Home at last." Fabulous music. Incredibly intelligent sermon. Beautiful liturgy. Friendly congregation. All good.

The best thing, though, was that the kids loved this church. Services for children are beyond good. They’re just plain great. Ms. Charley and Ms. Barbra run things upstairs and they’re geniuses at helping children to love God, love church, and enjoy worship. My time as a member of Christ and St. Luke’s has taught me to more and more appreciate those who make church interesting for the kids.

Yes, Lydia and I just about wrecked ourselves turning the kids’ department into an Olde Jerusalem Market Place, but, if asked, we’d start again tomorrow. We think that much of the people who every Sunday work with little Sadie and Benny.